League History
Conception For nearly a century tennis, or lawn tennis, was enjoyed by amateurs around the world. As the game grew in popularity, so did the number of spectators. Regional tournaments began to pop up and over time grew into an international competition. The Furry Tennis Association (FTA) was formed in 1963 in response to the growing desire to see the sport grow into a profession. Tournaments were aligned into a set calendar schedule, and prize pools set. The game had gone from an amateur sport to a professional overnight...at least for men. Three years after the founding of the FTA, the Woman's Furry Tennis Association (WFTA) was formed. The WFTA sought to support and grow the women's game of tennis. Over the years most tournaments began hosting both FTA and WFTA tournaments on the same schedule. For a decade the FTA had a significant advantage over the WFTA in terms of viewers and endorsements, which lead to larger and larger prize pools. But the women's game made strides in the late 1970's as the level of play skyrocketed and more players took proactive steps engaging with the fans. But with the WFTA taking off, the FTA saw their viewership plummet. By the mid-1980's the sport began to stagnate as the two leagues fought over a divided audience. Realizing the current situation was detrimental to the sport and the players, both the FTA and WFTA directors set in motion a plan to 'save' the game. Their idea was simple, a merger between the FTA and WFTA to bring together the athletes and to remove the viewer divide. The plan was risky, and faced a lot of criticism and skepticism. Nonetheless the two Directors were able to build enough support throughout the 1990's such that the two would merge at the start of the new millennium. Fallout From Merger Not all were happy about the two Tours coming together. The game of tennis had originally been a gentlemens' game, dating all the way back to its early roots in country clubs when only rich men were able to play. That culture remained prevalent in some regions where they believed merging the leagues was a betrayal to the sport. A few smaller level tournaments withdrew from the FTA and attempted to create their own league in response. Though without the funding and TV deals they reverted to local events. The most difficult challenge for the new FTA came from the Dublin Open's Board. Considered the birthplace of modern tennis, it held onto many of the traditions from the early years and had become one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year. The Board and the FTA entered a tense standoff as the merger moved on without Dublin's support. It took the FTA threatening to remove them from the schedule before the Board folded and agreed to allow women into the men's draw. There were also some protests from players, some going so far as to withdraw from tournaments. However such actions ended up hurting them more than the tour as there were plenty of players willing to fill their spot in the tournament draws.